Underworld: Chronicles of The Cave of Two Lovers
by Hellsing-agent-Alucard
Summary: Stuck in a cave with no way out? Great...Stuck in a cave with no way out and the most bitingly sarcastic girl ever to Bend Earth? Just super, as Azula finds out. T for Language, Violence, and mentions of Violence, as well as allusions to rape. Nongraphic.
1. Fire in the Hole

Okay, this is designed to be a multi-chapter work detailing the complications of Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, the Aang Gaang, and Zuko. Iroh will get tea, 'nuff said. Reviews are appreciated, and necessary to shut my nagging mouth. Comments, complaints, and flames will all be greatly appreciated. As you may see there will be slash, if no actual romance, because romance takes effort.

The main plot device will be the "Cave of Two Lovers," as well as Ty Lee and Toph. There will be non-mainstream pairings, as well as a temporal a-linearity. In simple terms, that means it will be hard to pin down exactly "when" this story happens. An example is that Azula is chasing the Avatar through the Two Lovers Cave, but Zuko is also. I guess this will take place during "The Chase," but in the Cave instead of that little deserted town-thing.

Also, there will be cussing, Shoujo-ai(F/F pairing(s)), and Yaoi(M/M Pairing(s)if I have time). That said, I have taken the time to warn you, the reader, of possible controversial plot points. If you flame me, I will laugh at you! I really don't care what people who can't take five minutes to read warnings have to say on what they "believe" is Immoral, Illegal, or Fattening...because that basically consists of everything good in life.

Those who find the warning itself offensive, I couldn't care less. It needed to be said, so I'm saying it in the most blunt manner possible to avoid any and all misunderstandings. After reading all of this, if you still want to read the below story, let it be said that you are a far braver (man/woman/something else) than I. Note-**_Aang does not know Earthbending yet!_**

I don't own Avatar

_**Underworld**_

_**Ch.1-Friction **or **Fire in the Whole  
**_

Azula was going to kill Ty Lee. Some small, logical portion of her brain protested that the acrobat couldn't have known that blocking an Earthbender's Qui, while she was Earthbending, in an underground cavern, would have caused said underground cavern to collapse. That small, logical part of her brain was immediately quashed by her overwhelming rage.

Rage that was certainly not being helped by…

"Hey princess, slow down."

How the word "princess" could sound so derogatory had escaped her until just recently. It must have been the fact that an Earthbender was saying it. Or maybe it was the girl's seemingly unique gift for biting sarcasm.

Either way, it wasn't helping Azula's sudden desire for char broiled peasant.

"Do you have your bending back, yet?" Azula grated out.

"Nope, gotta' admit, your friend was thorough. I'd be crawling around right now if it wasn't for four things." Toph smiled.

Azula paused, her eye twitching as she watched the low flame flicker on her finger. She had to be careful expending oxygen in this cave environment, but she needed to see all the same, if only to save herself the embarrassment of walking into a wall or caved in section of tunnel. If the latter happened, they would be in trouble, as they lacked a functioning Earthbender.

"What?" Azula asked, nearly snapping when it became apparent that the Earthbender wasn't going to elaborate.

"Huh?" Toph asked, smirking when the normally icy Azula's composure fractured. "Oh, that. Smell, Sound, Touch, and Taste."

Azula grudgingly ceded credit to the Earthbender. She had heard of the theory, but never seen anyone up to the challenge of using four senses to take the place of an absent fifth. Still, she was Earthbending filth.

"Geez, don't you talk? Just walking like this is soooo boring!"

Azula's eye twitched. Didn't _she_ ever shut up? "I am restraining myself from killing you on the chance that you might be essential to my escape from the damned cavern in the near future. Be thankful that I've granted you this small reprieve."

There was a sudden, blissful silence that Azula didn't fail to appreciate.

That made it all the more irritating when Toph spoke again.

"Well excuse me, _your highness_, I was unaware that I was such an enormous burden on your royal back! I'll have you know that if I had my bending right now, I'd show you just how much a boulder cares about your attitude…_sparky_."

There was that twitch again. More powerful this time, like a low-level seizure. Absently, she noted lightning coursing down her right arm. No one. No one, not even little ZuZu had had the…impertinence to call her…anything of the like. It was infuriating, frustrating, and…

_Immeasurably desirable._

Azula's throat seized on the last thought, her body froze as if that water-bending peasant had chilled her to the bone. She hadn't just…had she?

No.

The answer was, _had _to be, No.

"So, Angry Boy's your brother?" Toph asked, on a sudden tangent.

Azula bit back a smirk. For an Earthbender, the peasant did have an admirable attitude towards associations. Seeing as she was Earth Kingdom, she couldn't associate with the upper echelon of Fire Nation royalty, under normal circumstances at least, but the Avatar-the single strongest Bender in existence-was a close second. In addition, her sarcasm and nicknames, given the proper direction, could be quite amusing.

"Yes. However, ZuZu lacks the proper amount of personal honor and recognition from our father to be considered the Crown Prince he, at one time, was." Azula smiled wolfishly.

"You don't sound too broken up over it," Toph noted.

"Why should I be?" The Fire Princess asked with a raised eyebrow, not that Toph was in any position to appreciate it. "That leaves me as Ozai's favorite, not that I wasn't before, and the lone heir to the throne."

"And as long as you stay at Daddy's beck and call, you get to stay that way," Toph added.

The twitch was back.

"I've cut off limbs for comments like that," Azula replied acidly.

"Go ahead. I bet we'll get out of here so much faster," Toph nodded.

It was at that point Azula noticed that they had been standing still for the last several moments. She began to walk again, the nearly silent footsteps of her companion padding along behind her. How the Earthbender was able to make her way so sure-footedly was still largely a mystery to her.

"Why'd Angry Boy get thrown out of the Hot House anyway?" Toph asked mildly.

Twitch.

Dammit.

"He spoke up during a War Meeting at my Father's table, out of turn, and dishonored Father. To settle the dispute, he was called to an Agni Kai, a fire duel. He thought the decrepit general would be his opponent. The day of the duel, he and Lord Ozai matched off. He begged Father to allow him to apologize. He was weak."

"And Dear old Dad banished him?" Toph finished, raising an eyebrow. The gesture was not lost on Azula, who found it somewhat disconcerting the Earthbender would find fault in her story. It wasn't a mere moral difficulty, Azula knew. For all of her faults, that virtue was high on the list of positive attributes the Fire Princess found in her…friends.

"What?"

Toph set her hands behind her head, taking a new, leisurely pace that irked Azula somewhat. The Earthbender might have all the time in the world, but Azula did not.

"He was set up. Ozai wanted him out and prodded the general to suggest an arguable course of action, knowing Angry Boy would let his hot head get the better of him." Toph elaborated.

Azula raised an eyebrow at the speech. "And here I was of the opinion that all Earth Kingdom peasants were lowly educated. Perhaps you would make a good lackey after all. Even Mai lacks those reasoning abilities."

Toph snorted, showing once again her…enticingly disdainful attitude towards authority.

"Three things: I'm not some peasant. My name is Toph Bei Fong. Next, I'd rather be dumped in the middle of the ocean than serve under you. Finally, if Ozai dumped your bro, why are you so sure that he won't do the same to you?"

"As much as I am loathe to admit it, the fact is that I obey my Father's orders to the letter, and therefore, am subject to his good favor,' Azula smiled coldly.

"A dead end," The Fire Princess stated distastefully.

Toph nodded and hummed. "Let's set up camp then,"

Azula stayed still, caught in limbo between the idea of wandering the seemingly endless tunnels of the "Cave of Two Lovers," and spending an extended period of time unconscious with a filthy Earthbender.

Eventually the soreness of mind and body took hold over her repulsion and she looked to unpack her supplies…

Only to realize that she had left the full complement of her gear back on her steed. Palming her face in exasperation, Azula wondered what more could possibly go wrong today.

Toph was busy unpacking a rolled up mattress and blanket. Stores of dried provisions came next, as Azula realized how hungry she was. Even Earth Kingdom food was better than an empty stomach. The growl it issued forth must have alerted the little Bei Fong to her lack of supplies, and the result was...surprising to say the least.

"I don't have enough for two full meals, so we'll have to ration it. Some now, some in the…morning, whenever that is. As for sleeping arrangements…you can sleep on the ground or…"

Twitch.

Double Dammit.

No. She wouldn't even entertain the notion. It was deplorable, galling, and revolting. Had it been Mai or Ty Lee, it would have been an acceptable, however distasteful hardship.

The soreness of her feet, on the other hand, attested to the hardness of the ground.

"Back to back. No Touching." Azula demanded.

"Yes your highness," Toph grumbled.

* * *

In case you're stil here feel free to tell me what you like/found offensive/or hated. Those of you who were truly entertained may find my Teen Titans one-shot entertaining as well. I am considering expanding that to multi-chapter also. Feel free to comment on that too. 


	2. Headbanger

Okaypeeps, new chapter. Additions to warnings are as follows: This chapter possesses hints of percieved, attempted abuse and attack. Percieved in that the attempt never actually happens. If you didn't understand that warning, read the fic, you'll understand.

Once again, I don't own Avatar and this plot is, to my knowledge, original up to this point._**  
**_

_**Ch. 2-Headbanger **or **A Joker in Pink**_

Zuko warily leaned over the downed acrobat. Being wary of a fourteen-year old girl was not something he made a hobby of, but felt confident it would go unnoticed this time. He was utterly alone, save for the aforementioned sleeping/unconscious Ty Lee. Another reason the (former) Prince of the Fire Nation was wary was because this girl was connected to his sister, and if memory served, had the power to take away any bending abilities with a tap of two fingers.

"Get up." Zuko ordered straightforwardly.

"Just one more candle Mai?" The pink girl asked smilingly and curled into a ball.

Twitch.

Therein could be noted a certain family resemblance, save for the fact there were no observers. "I'm not Mai," Zuko ground out. "Now get up."

To her credit, and discredit, Ty Lee's eyes immediately popped open at the sound of a strange voice so close to her person. As it was, Zuko's scarred face was bathed in the shuddering half-light of a Firebender's flame, which gave him a distinctly scarier appearance than normal.

Any woman with deeply ingrained responses would have done the same thing Ty Lee did next, which was to drive two blunt fingers into Zuko's left shoulder…which was also, coincidentally, the same arm that held the flame.

Anyone, and yes dear reader, that applies to you, can guess what happened next. One dark cave and one extinguished flame rendered two teenagers in complete blackness. Both of these teenagers had extreme martial talent, though the female of the two had the added advantage of believing herself about to be attacked by an unknown male force.

Less than two moments later, Ty Lee also knew, for a fact, that the unknown male force was very…heavy.

"Ty Lee," The voice stated in her ear, deeply husky.

"Who…" She asked, squirming as she tried to get a grip on…something that wasn't obviously attached to the male anatomy.

"It's Zuko. Azula's brother? I can't move. Could you please put my body to rights so I can get off you?" In reflection, Ty Lee could have mistaken the pure, unadulterated rage of a Firebender's native element, for the huskiness of a man's excited voice…Zuzu? Mai would kill…err, skewer her!

In another two extremely embarrassing moments Zuko stood, blushing, thanking the restored low-light for low visibility. Ty Lee, abashed of her behavior, refused to look anywhere but her feet.

Resist the twitch.

This was why Zuko had unsuccessfully, but valiantly, resisted his Uncle's attempts to drag him in several…low class establishments…which also served, reportedly, very good tea. The low class arena that the establishments took part in was unquestionably rooted in the dress…or lack thereof, that its…female…servers adorned themselves with.

In short, Zuko couldn't deal with women.

Or men either.

Come to think of it, when had he not interacted with an individual and not pissed them of to the point of redefining the term.

"Sorry."

Zuko snapped out of his personal diatribe against himself and brought his attention back to the girl before him.

"It was nothing," Zuko replied gruffly, making a show of studying their small chamber to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation. As he was looking away from the girl, she must have looked up and….

Gasp! "Zuko! Your face, what hap…was that where…?"

Zuko nodded decisively, once. It would have to be her first time seeing her after two years and the healing of his scar.

"I…don't like to talk about it."

Ty Lee nodded again, this time emphatically, while Zuko fought the urge to either twitch, or begin to bang his head on the wall of the cave out of frustration. Did this girl happen to have any vocabulary that wouldn't place them in an even more awkward situation. It would have to be his responsibility.

"Do you know what happened to cause the cave in? I was sure it must have been that Blind Bandit, but…?"

"I…kind of…tapped her…when she was bending," Ty Lee nearly whispered.

Twitch.

"In the deepest section of a several meter-deep cave system?" Zuko asked, perfectly calm save for the twitching of his eye.

Ty Lee nodded despondently.

"During a battle that, alone, could have fractured the structure?"

Nod.

"And you decided to, during the middle of an attack, deprive an Earthbender of her abilities?"

This time Ty Lee shifted on one foot nervously and muttered. "Never mattered before…"

Zuko eye-twitch-dance stopped as he turned around and slammed his head into the solid wall of the cave.

Ty Lee stared.

Zuko sighed, his frustration taken out on his poor forehead. "Can we just focus on getting out of here…please?"

Ty Lee's blinding smile nearly provided as much light as Zuko's finger torch. Zuko winced and picked up his traveling pack, which had, thankfully stayed by his side after the cave-in.

"I hope Mai's alright." Ty Lee sighed.

"Not Azula?" Zuko asked mildly.

Ty Lee straightened, as if caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Azula can take care of herself."

"But not her own pranks?"

Ty Lee winced at the barb. "You know Mai still has the hots for you. You two would look cute together."

"So would you two."

Ty Lee stiffened for another reason entirely this time. "How?"

"My sister can be remarkably, almost willfully, unobservant sometimes. I remember, after Azula…broke…Mai of her crush on me, you two began to give each other stares."

Zuko looked at her pointed.

"Mai would be better off with you," Ty Lee answered, then let what Zuko had said sink in. "Wait! Mai likes…likes girls?"

"Well, you in any case," Zuko answered.

Ty Lee smiled privately then giggled. Then her giggle turned into a full-blown laugh. Smiling widely again, the pink acrobat wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck and hugged him rightly enough to squeeze the air from his throat. Turning blue, Zuko considered ending his morbidly perverse quest for his honor and letting Ty Lee strangle him to death.

Almost regretfully, Ty Lee pulled back as soon as white stars began to cloud Zuko's vision. Instead, he was greeted by her painfully bright smile again as hopped up and down, reflecting the light of Zuko's own finger-torch.

_What had he done to get himself in this mess again?_ _Oh yeah, chase the Avatar…and the Water Tribe peasant, but that was another obsession altogether._

"Is wittle ZuZu thinking naughty thoughts?" Ty Lee teased, flipping his nose with a finger.

_Agni help him, he would kill this girl._

* * *

Ah, gotta' love the family resemblence. Now, tell me what you think of it. Good? Bad? Seizure-incducing?_  
_


	3. Sharp and Pointy

Ok folks, chapter three is up and running, written while watching Iroh debate the merits of "heartbreaking tea" vs. "deadly poison." And Hippies. Now, seriously, I'd like to thank all "six!" of my reviewers...yes that statement is meant as a guilt trip. Now, I also want to thank anyone who complimented me on keeping everyone in character. Seriously, I do try, and that is my goal.

On that topic, I'm worried whether or not Mai is still in character...since she barely says anything.

I don't own Avatar

This chapter is rated for alcohol use and mention of the female mentrual cycle. Read that again so nothing catches you off-guard._  
_

_**Ch.3-Sharp and Pointy** or **Feminist vs. Sexist**_

"Could you please take the knife away from my throat?" Sokka asked… begged…something along those lines.

A pair of the coldest eyes in existence bored in to Sokka's own. They begged the question: Do you feel lucky, huh? Do ya'?

No, Sokka didn't, in fact, feel lucky. Sokka felt like pissing himself and sending a heartfelt prayer to Yue to get a place ready for him. Maybe he would vomit after that. Maybe not, he was a patient man, though.

"What happened?" Mai, he was pretty sure that was her name, asked with all the languid speech of someone asking the time of day. Come to think of it, he didn't know the time of day and he was getting pretty hungry. Was it past lunch already?

Focus Sokka! "Oh…uh, cave-in? Knocked you unconscious? Me too. You woke up while I was trying to sneak away and that brings us here. Can I have my throat back now?"

"If I move this knife, are you going to start talking again?"

"Uhh," Sokka paused, watching the girl's eyes as they narrowed murderously, "No?"

"Good," Mai nodded and slipped the knife back to…Sokka decided he didn't want to pursue that line of thought.

"How can we see anyway?" Mai asked as she looked around, the thought occurring to her for the first time.

"Crystals," Sokka replied unthinkingly and winced when Mai shot him a nasty look. "Shutting up."

Mai nodded and crane her swan-esque neck up to see the naturally luminescent crystals that adorned part of the ceiling. "Clever, although it doesn't help us get out of here."

"Yes it does," Sokka pointed out. "As long as none of this cavern isn't caved-in, we can follow the crystals right out."

Mai favored him with a calculating gaze. "Perhaps you aren't the useless peasant I thought you were."

"Peasant!" Sokka nearly yelled. "Peasant, Peasant! Why do you Fire Nation types always call me that? I'm the son of the chief of the Southern Water Tribe."

Mai rolled her eyes. "You're still a peasant compared to anyone in the Fire Nation Courts. I still don't see what she sees in you."

Sokka stared in confusion as Mai began to wonder off down the passageway. Grabbing his pack, he hurried after her.

"Who sees What in me?" Sokka asked, keeping the pace.

"Ty Lee." Mai replied, one of her lips twitching at the thought of the pink-haired acrobat. "She…likes you."

"Ah yeah, ladies do love the man, can't do much about it," Sokka smiled.

"How about you be quiet before I slide a knife into your gut. And a word of caution, Water Tribe: If you ever hurt Ty Lee I'll see you on a spit." Mai growled.

Sokka blinked at the irritation the statement contained…almost outright anger. Now, some may consider Sokka less than an intellectual, but he does have his moments. One such insightful department would be relationship. After going through Suki back on Kyoshi Island and Yue in the Northern Water Tribe, one would have to learn something.

"If you like her you should tell her," Sokka replied mildly.

Mai stared at the Water Tribe boy as if he had just proclaimed he could Airbend.

"What?" He demanded.

"I just always thought you were a sexist pig. You acted enough like it."

Sokka's face soured. "Gee thanks. Guess old habits die hard. Lately I've been saved by enough ladies to get it beaten into my head that women can kick just as much butt as I can."

"Very big of you," Mai nodded appreciatively, with just a hint of sarcasm. "Even if you aren't the sexist pig I thought you were, that still doesn't go far enough to explain the fact that you would support a lesbian relationship."

Sokka stared at her. "Have you ever been to the Poles?"

"No."

"At the Poles, we have six months of light, then the same amount of night. What do you think we do during those six months? I'll give you a hint: It gets really boring." Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mai thought about his question for two or three moments, then blushed heavily.

Sighing, the knife-slinger pulled out a small flask and took a gulp from it. At Sokka's inquisitive glance, she explained. "If you and I are going to have this conversation, then I can't be sober or I'll cut your voice box out and let you bleed to death."

Taking another look at the flask, Mai shoved it in Sokka's hands.

Sokka took a single sniff of the bottle and shrugged.

* * *

One bottle of Fire Whiskey later.

* * *

"Why do you always look like you're PMSing?"

Mai almost bit her tongue. Evidently, Sokka was not an experienced drinker. Half a pint of fire whiskey couldn't do much more than get Mai to a nice buzz. Well, it gave her a buzz and dulled her accuracy over a meter or two. That meant she'd have to get blood on her robes if she wanted to kill him…

Wait…what had she been…oh yeah…

"I don't always look like that," Mai replied. "Besides, you'd be pissed off too if you had to deal with little miss Fire Princess."

"That bad huh?"

Mai sighed. "Azula's…complex."

"That bad, huh?" Sokka repeated.

Mai sighed again. "Yeah, that bad."

The two shared a companionable silence that was totally different than the murderous one just meters and minutes before.

"Why's the Fire Nation wanna' rule everybody anyway?" Sokka found himself asking and immediately attributed it to the alcohol. Yeah, had to be the alcohol.

"Who knows?" Mai asked, surprising Sokka.

"Huh?" The rather blitzed boy asked, clueless.

"There's a reason its called 'Sozin's War,'" Mai replied somewhat condescendingly. "What you need to understand is that the Fire Nation is a group of people. Any group of people can be coerced into following a doctrine set down by a leader. For us, the Fire Lord is as near a Kami as is known on earth. To defy his will is unthinkable."

"I think I'm gonna' be sick," Sokka said.

"Yeah, gets to me too," Mai nodded.

"No," Sokka stated, covering his mouth. "I think I'm really going to be sick."

* * *

Well, what do ya' think? This was probably the hardest chapter so far. Next will be Katara and Aang? Will that be a pairing? Maybe...but maybe not _just_ KatAang. Well then, you _should_ review the story that this humble author has gone to the trouble of putting up for your enjoyment...but if you don't want to...sniffle

BTW: If I wrote a Katara/Mai story, is there anyone that would read it? You guys seem really hungry for that pairing.


	4. Evolution

Chapter four. I'm beginning to get the idea that people like my story...that's a first. Now, given the fact that there was adequte response to the Mai/Katara idea, I will begin researching the idea. Whether it will be a one-shot, two-shot, or chapter fic is still up in the air and announcements will most likely be posted on AN at the beginning or or ending of each chapter of this story.

That said, this was **_supposed_** to be about Aang/Katara, but Zuko snuck into it. No...check that, its about him. Rereading this, I can't help but wonder Where the &$$ this thing came from! I'm not even really a big fan of Zuko! Don't get mad Fangirls/boys, he's still badass Why did I write this?! Why?! If you can tell me, It'd be much appreciated.

I don't own Avatar.

That said, this chapter is rated for extreme Zuko angst-fest-ness, wolf-bat-but-kicking, and Katara-saving. Seriously, this isn't too graphic, but there will be some serious animal vs. people combat and many animals will die. Fair warning._**  
**_

_**Ch.4-Evolution **or **Repaid Debts**_

"You go left, I'll go right."

Ty Lee opened her mouth to argue, but Zuko's smoldering glare made the words wither on their vine. Sighing, she took the proffered lamp and lit it off Zuko's finger. The (former) Fire Prince watched her sharply as she pouted. She really didn't want to go down a dark tunnel alone, did she?

_Well tough._

The callus thought surprised him. Was he really that cold?

Did he want to act like Azula?

"If you don't find anything after a hundred and fifty paces, turn around. I'll do the same. If one of us doesn't show up we'll have found something or be in trouble." Zuko reasoned somewhat more mildly.

Ty Lee's brilliant smile lit up the cave once again and Zuko held out a palm as she came at him.

"Hug me and you're charcoal."

Back to the pouting.

"Thanks Zuko."

Zuko shuddered as the pink girl fairly skipped her way down the dark, dank tunnel. _Why did I just obligate more of my time to be spent with her?_

Frowning, he found an unsettling tickling sensation at the back of his mind, like he had forgotten something.

Zuko's journey down the dark tunnel, a shining finger lighting his way, was hopelessly boring. At one-hundred-forty-seven paces he readied himself to turn around when a growling noise registered on his strained hearing.

The noise was low-level, but…

There, ahead of him!

Breaking into a run and drawing his right broadsword at the same time, Zuko found himself suddenly in a larger chamber…surrounded by wolfbats.

"Agni, when I get to the spirit world, we're going to have…words," Zuko vowed grimly as he slowly reached for his other broadsword. Still, something was odd…all the beasts were gathered on the opposite side of the cavern.

That isn't to say there weren't enough of them slowly moving in for the kill on him. Slowly, he began to twirl his favored weapon faster and faster.

Finally, Zuko charged into battle, a whirling tornado of slashing steel.

Overhand.

Block the claws.

Shift stance…follow through with a fiery thrust.

Backhand.

Ignore the screaming water peasant…

Wait…what?

Focusing in on Katara's figure, lit up by his lashing blows of flame, Zuko debated changing his tactics from escape to…what, rescue?

The idea was absurd, and part of him knew it. There had to have been a hundred of those stupid wolfbats and he couldn't fight them all off…but could _they_?

It was at this time, Zuko's conscience, a little-known and long-starved entity in its own right pressured him to remember the fact that the Avatar hadn't left _him_ in the freezing ice of the Arctic North to die…could he leave this girl to die at the hands of these animals?

_Yes._

Could he live with himself?

_…_

Could he stay sane?

_No._

_Maybe Azula is right_, the scarred Prince wondered as he began to cut his way through a never-ending horde of wolfbats. _Maybe I am…weak. Maybe I am worthless_.

Growling, he punctuated his thoughts with a blurring over-hand strike that cut viciously into the flesh of one wolfbat. Sliding it free, he continued the stroke into another beast. The very idea that Azula could be right…that he could be weak…enraged him so that large gouts of flame began to sear the skin of any wolfbat that came near enough.

_What do I care?_ He asked himself finally as he felt the bit of yet another tooth or claw bit into his own flesh. _I'm about to die here, I know that. Then…why do I care what Azula thinks?_

_Why do I care what my father thinks?_

_If I'm about to die?_

Block.

Strike.

Parry.

Strike again.

Again.

Again.

The monotonous motion eventually brought him to the side of his target, and he realized why the girl hadn't run. Not only had she been pressed to a wall, but the Avatar's crumpled form, his chest raising and falling slowly, lay behind her. Grunting harshly, he interposed himself in between the animals and the maiden.

_Aren't I supposed to care about who I am?_

_All I've wanted up to this point has been my title. Ozai Father…that was all he wanted. He asked Grandfather for it…but…_

Downward strike.

More fire.

More.

_Why? If Grandfather never granted Ozai the right of succession…**but it was his dying wish.**_

**And who was at his deathbed?**

The thought made Zuko want to vomit. Could his father have really been so…bloodthirsty? Could he have…killed Grandfather? If he did, who was to say the guile ended there?

_Iroh had always said he was afraid of me. I never got it._

_Iroh had always said Lu Ten died in the siege. He never got it._

If Ozai could bring himself to place a death sentence on his own son, what would his nephew mean to him?

Pain blossomed in his chest as tears prickled his eyes. His flames surged anew as a rage and sadness Zuko had never known clawed its way forth from the depths of his soul.

_And what about Mother?_

* * *

**I love you Zuko. Never doubt that.**

* * *

And he still couldn't. It would mean the end of his world if that last block was removed. His mother had been the rock upon which his world was built. Ozai had been the sand. 

_Mother loved me. Ozai feared me._

On some subconscious layer, the connection clicked and Zuko new a pain more profound than any that had come before.

Katara stepped away from the blurring figure of Zuko. She was light-headed from loosing blood, but kept her hands at the ready to bend her element should Zuko fall or any of the animals get past him.

She honestly didn't even know where the Prince came from.

One minute she was being flanked on all sides, then…

Zuko's blades swerved as he _flowed_ with his element. Much like she did with hers. Katara had counted Azula as the pinnacle of "fire power" up to this point. Now, though, Zuko matched her grace, her power, but not the chill power his sister wore like a cloak.

What he lacked in that, he made up for with the heat of his anger.

The Master Waterbender stared as Zuko's furious pace quickened even further until he moved fluidly from second to second in an arch around her position, leaving the very ground heated in his wake.

The heat became almost unbearable when one of Zuko's blows pinned a beast to the ground…and the ground turned molten red underneath his blade.

The wolfbat's head caught fire as its cries burned to ash and Zuko stood, a ring of flowing stone matching the fire in his eyes.

Katara stared uncomprehendingly as the wolfbats, finally beaten, fled the cavern and Zuko, finally spent, dropped to his knees in the already-cooling earth-fire. His white-hot blade sank deeply into the rock, as if into butter.

Zuko dropped to his elbows as tears turned to steam on the ground beneath him.

Katara did regain her senses enough to notice that his left arm was bleeding enough to make someone with her healing experience very nervous.

"Zuko!"

"Quiet peasant," The Prince muttered as he dropped into unconsciousness.

* * *

K. Feel Free to review the product of my unrestrained madness and dance to the twitching beat of the Fire sibling's eyes. Next chapter, no matter what Zuko says, will be Azula/Toph. And Iroh will get some time in the story...and tea. So...that's all folks, till' next time. 


	5. Schorched Earth

Well, well, well. I'm back after a week. First off, I'd like to say that I'm sorry, but updates are going to be more sparse for the next 2/3 weeks. This is because of a conglomerate of factors including college finals, an English paper, and a History paper. I've found time to update this sunday because of a deadline pushed back from tomorrow to Wed.

Okay then, I don't own Avatar.

This chapter is pure Azula/Toph with a little Iroh/Tea blended in. Next chapter is looking like its going to be centered around Mai and Sokka.**  
**

_**Ch.5-Schorched Earth** or **High Treason**_

Azula once again forced herself to relax. They were going to sleep. Sleep. That was all. That was all she would lover herself to. That was all her station would allow.

"You said you were a Bei Fong?" Azula asked.

Toph grunted. "Yeah. Why?"

"You're a daughter of wealth. Even for an Earthbender, I'd think living up to your station would be of greater importance than traveling with the Avatar."

"Then why are you out here?" Toph asked sleepily.

"To bring honor to the house of the Fire Lord," Azula recited.

"Yeah, well, my parents were so _honored_ by me that they didn't feel they had to tell anyone else about me. So they can take their money and _shove it._"

The sheer malevolence of the statement caught Azula off-guard. She had noticed Toph didn't get angry. It was rare for the blind girl to display any emotion beyond that of sarcastic ambivalence.

_Just like herself_.

"Cat-bird got your tongue?" Toph asked, once again half-asleep.

"How can you just…not care?" Azula asked softly, mostly to herself. Louder, she said, "I don't have that luxury."

She would deny it to the grave that there was any jealousy in her voice.

"Sure you do," The Earthbender replied. "You can tell your dad to go screw it anytime you want."

Silence.

"No." The Princess stated. "I can't." _As much as I want to._

"Why?"

"Because someone has to succeed my father."

"What about Angry Boy?"

"Zuzu is dishonored. Not suitable," Azula sighed, growing sleepy herself.

"Throw a Coup, put your brother in power, and walk away from it all."

_It can't be that simple_, Azula thought loudly. _Nothing is. _Still, she couldn't see a whole in it. _But…it was so…blunt. So much like…**her.**_

"And I suppose that doing so would end the war and everyone would live happily ever after." The princess's tone was spiteful and angry.

"Nah."

"Come again." Azula was intrigued. Of course, she'd have been disappointed if someone she had come to admire in so short a time believed in "happy endings."

"I'm not going home. All I have is…well, Twinkle Toes, Sugar Queen, and Snoozles. If I go home…I'm going to be locked up in some little room and kept…_safe_." Toph spat.

If Azula hadn't been almost brain-dead with sleep-deprivation and two days worth of traveling and chasing the Avatar…

If she hadn't…

Rolled over and pulled Toph to her…

"Warm." Toph muttered.

In the "morning," Azula helped clean up camp in an eerie silence.

Well, until Toph spoke.

"You hugged me."

The statement was bland, and that hurt Azula for a reason that she couldn't name. Some deep instinct pulled that pain deep into the fire, but she resisted it. Instead, she turned it over, examined it, and found that it was better than the chill that usually marked her existence.

"Don't think anything of it," Azula stated as firmly as she could.

"You were warm," Toph said, not meeting Azula's piercing gaze even with her blind orbs.

"If…you want to say something, do it."

"I've never met anyone I liked," Toph admitted. "My friends are nice, but…I like you…Azula. You're mean, cutting, and…sparky."

"I'm also the Fire Princess. And you're the heir to an Earth Kingdom fortune." Azula pointed out.

"No anymore," Toph shrugged. "I didn't want to be Toph Bei Fong, so I quit. I'm just Toph now."

Azula resisted the urge to snort. The past followed you, she knew that. Still, it was an attractive option. Just ditch…everything…but why?

_Because you father raised you to be a murdering psychopath,_ her conscious replied. _Because your parents had so much of a rivalry, they raised you and Zuko to hate each other. Maybe because…_

"I hate my life."

It was at this point Toph began to worry. Azula's tone was…blank. There was no chill, no hate, no…flavor. That wasn't like the Fire Princess.

"Then change it," Toph pointed out.

Azula sighed, leaning against a wall. "You're naïve."

"And you're an insane sociopath."

Azula giggled slightly. She was right. "Then I guess your plan would work. If I'm insane, then why not?"

Toph stared unblinkingly and unseeingly at her for the first time.

"Do you mean it?"

That sobered Azula from her nearly-drunken babbling.

"Why do you even care?"

Toph stared at her for another minute. Finally, she said, "Even if we can't be more than friends, we can be that. And as your friend, I can care."

"Leave me alone."

Toph felt her heart break as Azula spun on one heal.

"You're an Earthbender. I could never feel anything for you."

Toph nodded dejectedly, closing herself off to the blooming pain in her chest. She had said no, and that was fine. It hurt, but that was fine too. People got hurt in real life, that had been one of her first lessons in the Earth Rumble tournaments.

_Hey little girl, you're awfully far from home._

The voice came unbidden to her mind. Damn Shin Fu.

_You wanna' play with the big boys?_

Damn him.

Flashes of gropes, pulling hands, and biting mouths came unbidden to her mind.

Stop. I'm strong now. I'm the greatest Earthbender ever. No one can hurt me like that. No one.

But Azula had.

* * *

In an area above the cave, the former Dragon of the West calmly sipped from a cup of delicious tea. Looking up, he spied leaves fluttering on the breeze.

"Ah, such a calming sight. If only Zuko were here to share it."

A small chitering made him turn to his side and hold out a small nut.

Momo immediately took the nut and started to gnaw on it. "My apologies, I did not mean to say that you were not good company, little friend."

Momo cocked his head to one side and crawled back onto Appa. Appa grunted sleepily and Iroh rubbed a soothing hand over the flying bison's fur.

"Although, I have a strange suspicion that he is alright." Maybe Zuko was finally turning his life around? Of course, that only worsened the dichotomy of his sister's path versus his own.

"If only my niece were not insane. Perhaps all she needs is someone to guide her?"

As Iroh pondered the dilemma and sipped his tea, he wondered what would become of his errant niece and his wayward nephew.

* * *

Well then, review if you want to have your opinions heard. Ask me questions, insult me, whatever. And what the Hell is happening with Ty Lee? Hmm...? 


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